Support
by Commanderxcom
Summary: She wouldn't be in this mess if she just had some... support. alt power Taylor.
1. Chapter 1

SUPPORT

First off this is my very first posting to FF and my very first foray into the written word. So tear into it all you want. suggestions, grammar, anything.

Secondly I don't write all that often soooo…. Yeah sporadic updates at best.

Third, I edited this chapter. Fixed crapitalization, and added a Translations section at the bottom.

o0OXWX…..Taylor Hebert…..XWXO0o

Blearily I open my eyes to darkness. Where am I?

Then the smell hits me. O Scion the smell. Its the worst thing I've ever smelled. My body tries to double over, to better evacuate my stomach but I just end up smashing my nose into a metal wall. The pain is blinding, I think my nose is broken though I don't think I hit the wall hard enough for it to be fresh. And now I'm throwing up all over myself, and crying at the pain.

 _Great._

I try to rub my face. Feel my nose. Anything, but my arms wont move. A moment of panic, am I paralyzed? My fingers twitch so not paralyzed just… trapped. trapped, I'm trapped. why am I trapped? Whats going on? Panic is setting in… and then I scream.

o0OXWXVXWXO0o

I don't know how long I've been screaming, but it feels like an eternity. Finally my voice cracks and I lose a little volume. I know if I keep screaming my voice will break.

I don't care.

I just want out. let me out. Out. O _ut. **O**_ _ **ut!**_

I beat my hands and feet bloody against what I've just realized is the inside of a locker. There's not much room but my pace is frantic. And only becomes more so when I realize I can feel _them_ crawling all over me. Biting me. _E_ _ating me alive_.

Another wave of nausea hits me and I retch, though nothing comes up.

They're on the insides of my legs. I can feel it. Its worse than anything I've ever felt. Their on my face. In my mouth, My _ears_. I try to shake them off. Away from my eyes, but it doesn't work. I shake my head harder, and harder until I'm bashing my Skull into all four walls of prison.

They're inside my ears now. Chittering. _Chewing._ I can't hear my own screams over that God awful noise, Just the chittering of chitin.

Sophia came back. She banged on the door and called me prey. Told me to enjoy my weekend.

Shes lieing. They wouldn't leave me here over the weekend. It's winter and the schools unheated. _I could die_.

I can't hold myself up any longer, I slump, sinking only a scant few inches. My movement disturbs something and the insect activity redoubles. I try to scream for help but only a wet gurgling comes out.

My head feels light. I don't think I'll be able to stay awake much longer. I don't know why they haven't come back. Maybe… Maybe they did. Maybe I was already dead and I'm in hell. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have noticed the transition, though it doesn't matter now. I can feel the darkness creeping into my mind. I think being dead would be better… death wouldn't be so bad…

o0OXWXVXWXO0o

A bang on the door startles me back to consciousness.

"still alive in there _Hebert? "_

Blearily I moan, my head lolls back with a soft thunk.

"Good. Wouldn't want something pathetic like you causing your betters problems, would we?" Sophia hisses through the slits in my locker… prison… _coffin_ door. "although maybe it would be best if I did do something about you." she hums speculatively.

Distantly my mind questions what she means by "doing something". Isn't locking me in here enough.

"yeeaahh. Can't have you spoiling my fun. " her voice fades as she walks away, and so do I.

o0OXWXVXWXO0o

 **Cold!** So cold! Wet! What's happening? I try to move. Only I can't. Of course. Locker. Right. But… wet.

A pungent odor rises from the liquid. It burns my eyes and my nose. It's so cold but it burns. It smells like Piss. It _is_ piss.

"Tougher than you looked ehh _Hebert_? I honestly thought you'd croak, day one." She chuckles. "I never actually had anything against you, ya know? I just wanted a toy, like a cat and it's mouse. Emma was always the one with the grudge. Always wanted to push that extra little bit. Said we needed to make you strong like us. Pshh… you could never be strong like me. Your unfit to be anything but a plaything… and I'm board with you. But, before I throw you away like the mangled rubber rat you are, I feel you should know something. It's like the icing on your personal maggot infested hygiene product cake, if you will." she takes a deep breath I can almost hear the sneer on her face. "I want you to know why you couldn't ever win. Why, even if you had fought back with all your might, you would have lost and there was nothing you could do about it. I want you to know why you are a loser and I'm a winner. Blackwell was protecting us." I can hear her take a slow step towards the door. She presses her forehead to my tomb and whispers just loud enough to hear "Because I'm shadow stalker."

And just like that my world makes sense. The reason I never got justice. The reason I've been bullied mercilessly, without end, for 18 months. Is because Sophia _mother FUCKING_ Hess, is a ward.

But then my, admittedly foggy, mind crashes to a halt. Why? Why would she tell me? Why give up her trump card like that? Then it hits me.

I'm not leaving the locker.

She's gonna kill me. I'm gonna _die_. I start hyperventilating. Tears I didn't know I still had after two and a half days in a metal box well in my eyes. I let out a single racking sob. That's when I see the shadow pass through the locker door.

It lingers for a second then separates. Half becomes material and falls, striking me on the bridge of the nose.

I see stars and my ears ring for a moment.

"... ust dropped on you Hebert, is a bomb. A _tinker_ bomb. I know, right? It's amazing what some of the Asian gang members can get their hands on in exchange for a little… play time? Not with me of course, but some of the weaker prey around here is easily… persuaded." she laughs for real this time. "You've got 5 minutes to contemplate just how pathetic you really are, and then, poof. No more sniveling _Hebert."_ she walks away.

Five minutes. According to the _cunt_ I only have five minutes left. Not so bad. I'll be out of the locker, and I might even see mom again. Mom. I smile for the first time in two and a half days. I wonder what she would say if she knew I was this OK with dying? Probably have some inspirational quote, Make it all better. Then me, her and dad would go out for Fugly Bob's. Dad… DAD…. _**DAD.**_ I  can't die here. If I die in here it would kill him. I can't kill dad. I can't get out… I'm gonna kill dad. He's going to die and it my fault. I killed them both. Their both dead and _IT'S ALL MY FAULT._ I black out.

o0OXWXVXWXO0o

Two massive being move through the void. Interwoven with each other into a helix. They resembled flat worms, if flat worms constantly shifted and changed in a pattern reminiscent of the animation of a Tesseract I once saw. They never spoke. There was no sound. Just certainty.

Destination. Agreement. Trajectory. Agreement.

Earth I could see it, they were going to.. O god I have to tell someone I have to…

o0OXWXVXWXO0o

I start awake. Images of… something, slip my mental grip. I shift and a small metal object clinks against the wall of my mental box.

Right… bomb… shit. How long was I out. I need to get out. Save my dad.

Someone... help...

I struggle weakly against my door.

"Noo yoo'll ne'er break th' duir doon loch 'at.(1)" a strange voice I can barely understand says. It has a strange echo too it. almost like it's coming from inside a tunnel, inside my head.

Oh thank scion. Help is here!

" _help."_ I squeak. And then I think better of it. " _no… run… bomb…"_

"Whit abit yer faither, lassie?(2)" he scoffs, this time thankfully his voice is coming from outside the locker and sounds more normal. Though it's just as loud, shaking the locker around me.

"Althoogh, ye did summon me he'er. dornt ken hoo, but th' reason is obvioos.(3)" If he didn't speak with the force of a rumbling volcano I don't think my damaged ears would have caught that. I think.. I think that was supposed to be a whisper.

I hear a clanking thump, like in the old pirate movies where the grizzled captain only has one leg, so he walks with a peg. Only this peg sounds like it's made of metal. And the man sounds like he's made of bear.

"Close yer eyes lassie,unless ye want tae lose them.(4)" he says in a voice that wouldn't _be_ out of place on a _Bear_.

I do as instructed.

There's the sound of screeching metal from over my head and I'm showered in metal shavings. Then the door is just.. gone. Free.. FREE.. _**FREE.**_ I greedily gulp at the fresh air. First I've had in days. I'm so busy just breathing I don't notice as a _huge_ pair hair covered arms scoop me up like I weigh

nothing.

"Whit in god's nam happened tae ye lassie?(5)" he whispers. Looking down at me. He has yellow eyes, And hair the color of Fire.

"b..m" I whimper.

"whit?(6)" he asks, leaning his head down.

"BOMB!" I shout.

The mountain of meat just gives me a half cocked eyebrow in response. Then a blinking shit covered metal sphere bounces out of the locker and goes ' _tink'_ against his steel toed boot.

I get the distinct impression his brain just blue screened. And then the yelling starts.

"SHHHHIIIIITE!(7)" the odd giant exclaims Turning from my locker.

I never knew someone with one leg… I loll my head back and look down… yup one tiny leg and a… is that a gun?

I never knew that a one legged man could have beat any Olympic sprinter you care to name at the hundred yard dash, but now I do. We covered the 20 yards to the end of the corridor in record time. His rifle hitting the floor with a heavy _thud..Rattle_ every other enormous stride.

"Which way is it, lassie?(8)" he asks with the most urgency I've yet heard from him.

I can't answer i'm beginning to fade again.

"Nae, nae, nae, nae, nae! ye gotta teel me whaur th' exit is!(9)" he sounds almost frantic now. More like a puppy than a bear my addled brain supplies.

" 'n exts a d'r slly puppy m'n.(10)" I slur.

"Aw Heel.(11)" I hear him swear. It sounds like he's ten miles away.

"Rest, noo, lassie. I'll make sure yoo're taken guid caur of." His voice sounds nice. Like going home.

The last thing I see before I'm reacquainted with oblivion is my rescuer lifting the massive rifle that is his left leg and pulling back a slide that's as big as my forearm.

o0OXWX...Translations...XWXO0o

1: No you'll never break the door down like that.

2: What about your father, girl?

3: Although, you did summon me here. don't know how, but the reason is obvious.

4: Close your eyes girl,unless you want to lose them.

5: What in god's name happened to you girl?

6: what?

7: shit!

8: Which way is it, girl?

9: No, no, no, no, no! you gotta tell me where the exit is!

10: an exit is a door, silly puppy man.

11: Aw Hell.

12: Rest, now, girl. I'll make sure you're taken good care of.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok first off I'd like to thank everyone who followed and favorited this story. I wasn't expecting anyone to like it enough to bother. As a matter of fact I just got another notification saying someone else just favorited it. wow. secondly I'd like to thank the one person who reviewed the first chapter for suggesting I translate for the scotsman, you'll find them at the bottom of the page. Third, I'm going to try to update at least once a week for a while and see how that pans out.

o0OXWX…..Danny Hebert…..XWXO0o

Danny hasn't slept in 3 days. He hasn't eaten in 2, and he certainly hasn't had the will to shower.

He knew he stank.

He just doesn't care.

He's sitting at his kitchen table. A cup of day old coffee sits in front of him. The receiver for his cordless phone in hand. His thumb held stiffly over the green call button, ready to jump at the first ring. it is the only thing he can do in a situation like this. It's the only thing he can do when his daughter was missing.

Danny's daughter is missing.

He suppresses a sob with a shudder.

The police had told him she had never shown up for class on Friday. Never even got on the bus according to witnesses, though that wasn't out of the ordinary. She didn't often ride the bus anymore, for some reason. They had told him they'd do everything they could, but the distance from his house to the school was long and not well lit. Not to mention they had stopped replacing traffic cameras when the ABB had made it policy to just tear them back down.

She was gone and it was all his fault. He felt it in his gut. It's not like he was a rich man, or all that important, but Danny was well liked and held a position of some power within the dock workers association. So maybe, just maybe, someone would take Taylor to get to him.

It's been three days since he last saw his daughter. He'd give them whatever they want.

And if someone wasn't holding her for ransom? If it was just random Street crime, If she was.. If she.. Danny's mind still wouldn't let him make that connection. He couldn't lose her too. He couldn't lose the rest of his family.

He needed to be out there Looking for his daughter, but everyone had agreed that he needed to stay home, just in case she came back. So he had called Kurt. Had him organize the boys. Called in favors and debts. Most of the dock workers not already on a job were out looking for his daughter.

He never realized he had more manpower than kaiser.

It was kind of humbling. Or it would be if he could think something other than " _find Taylor_ ".

Three hundred men. All scouring the city. Roughing up gang members and pounding on doors. Looking for his lost daughter. And they hadn't heard anything. Hadn't found anything.

Three days and Danny sheds his first tear in three years.

o0OXWXVXWXO0o

The phone rings. Danny starts awake, slumped at the kitchen table. Slamming the call button he jams the receiver to his ear.

"Where is she?" he says, barely stopping himself from screaming into the handset.

"Is this the Harbert household?" The woman on the line sounds old and tired.

"My daughter, where is she?" Danny chokes out.

"Are you Danny Harbert?" she presses.

"YES, DAMNIT, NOW TELL ME WHERE MY DAUGHTER IS!" His yell comes out and a small seismograph in the bay picks up a tremor. It barely registers with the woman.

"Sir, I need you to calm down. My name is Jackie, and I'm the night shift nurse supervisor at Brockton gen. Your daughters here, Mr. Harbert. She's… stable… currently." she sighs. "Mr. Harbert, we need you here, now. We need you to sign a number of release forms…. and your daughter, she… she needs fairly urgent surgery, sir. And probably at least one blood transfusion. Are you a donor match for your daughter, by any chance, sir?"

Danny was out the door and sprinting to his ratty old pickup as soon as he knew where his daugher was. He fumbled the keys twice while the nurse told him something about release forms. He dropped the receiver and peeled out of his driveway at the word donor.

o0OXWX…..Nurse Jackie…..XWXO0o

It was.. Awful. Just awful.

To think that someone could hurt a little girl so badly. It made her blood run cold with a righteous fury so pure it could have been used as jet fuel.

This was the third bandage change in the last hour and for the third time in an hour she wants someone's head mounted on her wall.

Taylor was her name. Found on the student transit pass in her back pocket. Carried into the ER by the biggest man she'd ever seen, and she'd been in the same room as manpower on three separate occasions.

He'd come sprinting into the ER, _through_ _the wall_. He shouldered his way through like it was candy glass. Screaming at the top of his lungs for a doctor, in an accent so heavy they called for a translator.

And he was shirtless.

Then he had set her down and it no longer mattered.

Tall and skinny, she had a frame that would have been more at home on a boy, or maybe a corpse at this point.

Her legs were… they looked like… she didn't think she'd ever eat hamburger again. And the bugs, oh the bugs! Crawling in and out of the wounds. Just thinking about it made her want a shower. How was she even alive? The answer? Blind luck and what looked to at one point have been the man's shirt, now a rather expertly applied set of tourniquets.

Even the on call physician had stopped and just stared for a second.

Then everything had happened all at once, as it does regularly in a hospital like BB gen.

Taylor had been whisked away to surgery, the living mountain following. And the ER had gone back to something resembling normal.

Which brought her back to the present, and the fact that said living mountain had been within twenty feet of Taylor at all times since her arrival. O sure, security had tried (For a given value of try) to tell him that he had to stay in the waiting room.

The mountain had simply rumbled and gripped the handle of his oversized sword.

He has a visitors pass pinned to his kilt now.

They were still waiting for the PRT to call back because, really? There was no chance this guy wasn't a parahuman.

She sighed and thought _not my problem right now_ , before finishing the bandage. Rapid footsteps from the open door herald the arrival of a frantic looking man with a too big nose and glasses. His shirt is untucked on the left side and looks like it has seen better days. He has only the one shoe on his right foot while the sock of the left has a large hole showing his last three toes to the world. Also he _wreakes_.

"TAYLOR!" the man yells.

Practically flying the man races to the child's side, he falls to his knees and grabbes her hand. His face streaked with tears and his hair matted. He lets out a single, strangled, sob.

"what happened to you?" he whispers.

o0OXWX…..Danny Hebert…..XWXO0o

Danny had never driven so fast in his life. Well over 100 the whole time he was on the freeway. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered besides getting to his daughter as quickly as possible. He didn't bother with a parking space, just ran his car up on the sidewalk and sprinted towards the door.

Running into the lobby he saw there were three people in line at the desk. He doesn't slow down. Doesn't stop. Simply slammes into the desk, jostling the man at the front of the Que off to the side.

"MY DAUGHTER! WHERE IS SHE!?" He screams. His nails leaving small scratches in the desk.

The nurse looks cowed.

"N..n..name? Sir?" She stutters.

"Hebert." Danny ground out.

"okay." The familiarity of performing her task refirming her resolve. her eyes refocus on her screen. "Heeeeebeeeert." she draws out the e's while tapping at her keyboard. "looks like one Hebert. Room 313."

Danny sprints away.

"sir! You need to sigh in…!" the nurse tries to call out.

Danny has already rounded the corner and is sprinting down the hall to the elevators.

"313." Danny mumbls. "most places have the floor as the first digit of the room number."

Reaching the elevators he slams his fist into the call button hard enough to crack it… the display at the top shows the car descending from the 7th floor. Not fast enough.

Mind made up he sprints through the door marked "stairs". Three flights. Just three flights of stairs.

He takes the first flight in two mighty leaps but stumbles on the landing above. The next two are taken three steps at a time. reaching the third floor landing and seeing the door marked with a big red 3 he slams the release bar hard enough to decouple the hydraulic "slow-stop" system on the door jam.

He's in a long hallway. The sign on the wall across for the stairwell he slams into shows rooms 300 - 310 to the left and 311 - 315 to the right.

He shoves off the the right and stumbles before righting himself and continuing on his mad dash. Her room comes up on the left. The door is already open.

"TAYLOR!" he screams as he rounds the doorframe. Pulling a small piece of molding off as he stops himself from sliding past the room.

He crosses the room in one step. His vision a tunnel with only Taylor visible at the end. Covered in bandages that have slowly turned brown.

Sliding to a stop he looks down at his daughter and falls to his knees. Gingerly he takes her hand, and in that moment the mental walls come down. He cries. Sobbing weakly, his cheeks Streak with moisture.

"what happened to you?" Danny whispers.

He doesn't expect an answer. He doesn't even register the massive hand resting on his shoulder.

"Gantin' things, danny, gantin', gantin' things.(1)" rumbles a voice behind him.

It's only then that Danny registers the grip and looks up. Standing above him is the largest man he has ever seen, and Danny hires people who move 300 pound crates by themselves. without powers. On their shoulders.

He has to be at least eight feet tall and five wide. His arms hang down past the knee of his right leg and his fingers are as big around as Danny wrist. He's shirtless, showing off his rippling muscles and massive beer belly. His torso is at least as wide as the bed Taylor was laying on and strapped across its back is a scabbard. The handle is ornate and covered in filagree. Depictions of what appeared to be the Scottish Highlands adorned the belt and what he can see of the scabbard. Judging from the fact that the handle pokes up above the… man's right shoulder almost two feet and down below his left hip by another foot it must be at least seven feet long.

Following the patterns on the strap Danny eyes arrived at the man's missing left leg. Which had been replaced with the largest caliber weapon danny had ever seen. It is a ventilated large bore machine gun that looks like it had been ripped right off the top of an MBT. As a matter of fact he can see faint markings that looked like they could have been mounting brackets at one point.

And he's wearing a kilt.

Danny's mouth dries up.

"who.." he swallows "who are you?"

"Aam... weel 'at is.. mah nam is... Ah... dornt ken?(2)" the _huge_ man sounds almost embarrassed. If an artillery barrage could sound embarrassed. "But Ah ken who ye ur Daniel Hebert. an' Ah ken who Th' lassie is.(3)" he looks over at Taylor with sad eyes.

"but.. But why are you here? how do you know us?" Danny looks back at his daughter.

"Ah dunnae kinn. a body minute aam slicin' mah way ben a stoaner ay aku's drones, th' next aam standin' in a corridur unable tae recaa mah ain nam.(4)" He croakes.

Danny's back straightens and he looks back up at the bear chested man.

"look I don't know who you are and I don't have time for your memory problems right now. As you can see I have a lot to deal with, so if you would leave I'd appreciate it" Danny says in his best 'go away' voice.

"That's th' trick isnae it? Ah cannae.(5)" He presses. "If Ah e'en hink abit it Ah gie weak. Ah dornt hink eh'd make it a mile.(6)"

Danny cocks an eyebrow at this. This guy claims he can't leave taylor? That just sounds creepy, not to mention the fact that he is currently shirtless in his _daughter's_ hospital room. Isn't security supposed to deal with people like this? (though secretly he doesn't think many people would have been able to make him do anything he didn't want to.) But, Danny muses, he also doesn't seem like the kind of man who would take advantage of the situation, or hurt either him or his daughter. In fact now that he thinks about it he realizes that having the giant in the room makes it feel more like home.

Huh.

"can you… can you just wait in the hall? I need to be alone with my daughter for a while." Danny half begs, half hopes.

"Ah hink Ah can dae 'at.(7)" the monument of muscle muses.

the huge redhead walks towards the door, a soft thunk rattle every other step. stopping at the door he turns around and looks at the back of the distraught man's head.

"I'll be reit ootwith th' duir, danny.(8)" the mutton chopped man mutters.

"Wait." Danny calls out a half a beat later. "What do i call you? Just for now until you remember your name?"

"Ah... Ah guess ye coods caa me _Th' Scotsman_.(9)"

o0OXWX…..Translations…..XWXO0o

1: Horrible things, Danny, Horrible, Horrible things.

2: I'm... well that is.. my name is... I... don't know?

3: But I know who you are Daniel Hebert. and I know who the girl is.

4: I don't know. One minute I'm slicing my way through Aku's drones, the next I'm standing in a hallway unable to recall my own name.

5: That's the trick isn't it? I can't.

6: If I even think about it I get weak. Ah don't think I'd make it a mile.

7: I think I can do that.

8: I'll be right outside the door, danny.

9: I... I guess you could call me _The Scotsman_.


	3. Chapter 3

It's not exactly how I would have wanted it and the character I introduce at the end is spectacularly hard to write well enough to satisfy myself, him being one of my favorites.

Also, you guys (and gals) rock. I've gotten so many likes and reviews in such a short amount of time.

lastly, Colin is a little more force over finesse here than he was in cannon. (And for those of you who don't get it go to tv tropes and look it up)

o0OXWX…..Armsmaster…..XWXO0o

Armsmaster climbs through the hole in the emergency room wall, tinkertech scanners active. his long strides carrying him up to the desk, politely but firmly jostling the line out of his way. A chorus of "not again", "this is the third bloody time", and "Halbeard" coming from behind him, he writes it off as mindless background noise.

"We got your call. where is he?" He says in his usual short authoritative sentences, Trusting his reputation to fill in for a formal introduction.

The nurse behind the desk looks up at the hero with just a little bit of awe on her face before quickly writing instructions down on a slip of paper.

"They took the patient up to this room after the surgery. that… man hasn't been more than a few feet from her since he did that." she indicates the destroyed wall.

"thank you." Armsmaster nods as he steps away from the counter. He surveys the waiting room once more, checking for outstanding warrants through the facial recognition system he and dragon had whipped up during one of there early tinkering sessions. He gets no hits.

His helmet bleeps, notifying him that the structural analysis he had started upon entering the building is finished. No danger to the structure was indicated. With a nod of approval the tinker starts towards the stairwell.

"Did you have to climb through the hole in the wall?" A familiar voice says, someone having come up behind him while he was checking his results.

"My program needed to see the damage from all angles to measure the structural impact accurately." He asserts, still walking. "besides I should be asking you what you're doing here Miss Militia."

She has beautiful soft eyes.

"The console asked if I could back you up, I wasn't far so I agreed." she says with a slight shrug. "What are we dealing with anyway?"

"Potential parahuman threat. provisory rating is brute 3 mover 2."

Miss Militia cocks an eyebrow at the low ratings.

"He had a girl with him. from what I can gather it sounded almost like they were afraid it could turn into a hostage situation, and standard procedure for a hostage situation states that"

"All available Protectorate Capes must respond." they chorus.

"fair enough." she says, nodding her head. "lets get to it then."

They walk the rest of the way across the hospital and up three flights of stairs in complete silence. Armsmaster, engrossed in the output from one of his simulations, letting it play across his HUD while his armor walks for him. Miss Militia busy relaying updates back to the console via text message.

o0OXWXVXWXO0o

"It should be just around this corner." Armsmaster whispers, having stuck his arm out to halt his partners advance. "You ready?"

The energy field that is her power flashes through a few different forms before settling on a large caliber shotgun with a huge drum magazine. She often picks it for mid level brutes. Its drum is filled with a mix of bean bag and pepper rounds.

"As I'll ever be." She smirks.

Armsmaster draws his halberd off his back and rounds the corner, immediately coming face to chest with a literal mountain of muscle.

"Can Ah help ye?" The colossal man rumbles.

Armsmaster has to look up. and up. and up. He takes a step back so as to not overstress the servos in the neck of his suit. They're still whining a little before he gets to the man's face

"Are you the Parahuman responsible for the disturbance downstairs?" He asks in his most powerful,commanding voice. It sounds meek in comparison to the cape in front of him, whose baritone rumbled his HUD.

"Whit, is a parahuman?" The ogre of a man asks.

It takes Armsmaster a few moments to process that no, this man has no idea what a parahuman is. His HUD is also kind enough to inform him the enormous man was telling the truth.

"I.. But.. you're telling the truth. How… How do you not know what a parahuman is?" Armsmaster asks, starting to doubt the validity of his lie detector.

"Swatch, ah dunnae kinn fa ye ur, an' Ah dornt caur. ah dunnae kinn whit a parahuman is, an' Ah dornt caur. but if ye start a barnie wi' 'at matchstick yer holdin', 'en i'll caur." The man gestures at Armsmasters most precious possession.

(Look, I don't know who you are, and I don't care. I don't know what a parahuman is, and I don't care. But if you start a fight with that matchstick your holding, then I'll care.) Armsmaster's HUD provides.

straightening slightly Armsmaster looks the giant in the eyes.

"I'm going to have to ask you to come with us back to the PRT headquarters for questioning." He deadpans.

The massive parahuman looks at him thoughtfully for a second.

"Nae, Ah dornt hink i'll be lea.." The brute stops mid-sentence, a look of confusion spreading across his face. "'at feels pure weird."

(No, I don't think I'll be lea.. that feels really weird.)

A red light appears in the center of the giant's chest, just over his heart. It expands to encompass his left breast, and then for lack of a better word he _melts_ into the light. Its color changes to green and it coalesces into a small sphere. hovering for just a moment it zips backwards through the door.

The monstrous humans sudden light show and subsequent disappearance through the still closed door left the two parahumans standing in shock. Armsmaster, whose HUD informs him he needs to close his mouth, is the first to recover. he growls an obscenity under his breath and brings his halberd to bear on the door.

"Stand back from the door!" he yells with great force and authority. "This is the protectorate East North East, we're coming in!"

Flicking a series of switches on his halberd the iconic sword like head retracts and folds impossibly in on itself, slotting back into the perfectly designed recess in the handle. In its place emerges a short black tube with small nubs in six neat rows along its length. The nubs light up with what could only be described as thick, hard, light. They brighten until they are projecting a sphere around the cylinder. His servos have to work harder to support the his Tool as the second half of this weapon activates and gravity around the HL projector is multiplied by 500, giving the one eight ounces of lead hidden within the force of a 250 lb sledge hammer. Armsmaster smirked a little, he'd gotten this idea from New wave… mostly.

He strains a little, lifting the hamberd, (he would admit to no one that he thought of it as such in this form.) a quick command to his hud and the jets in the backs of his wrists ignite.

Then he hits the door.. hard.

Armsmasters suit had analyzed the door. fracture points, grain density, hell he knew how old the tree it came from was. It told him so he _knew_ that a heavy oak door like this one would shatter when met with the force of his halberd. It told him so he _knew_ where the little pieces of door would fly.

It bounces off with a resounding _**CLANG**_ that echoes throughout the hospital.. and the neighborhood.

armsmasters jaw hangs open. That blow could have crushed the glacis plate on an A-1 abrams. not to mention it would have incinerated what was left. The door just stands silently mocking him. He takes a deep breath and brings the halberd around for another crack at the door.

"Wait!" shouts Miss Militia from behind him. With barely a thought he triggers the emergency stops on his servos and brings the momentous force that is his weapon in flight to a screaming halt.

"What!"He nearly yelled. Only keeping his composure through direct effort. He'd never be able to thank glen enough for the coaching. " Hes getting away! we have to get through!"

Working her jaw to clear her ears of the ringing miss militia steps forward "look at the door, Armsmaster. Its… its not right." The patriotic cape runs a hand down the door. "Its.. metalic. look." she picks at the spot armsmaster had spiderwebbed, flaking a little of the blackened paint off. what is revealed is not the solid oak door that it should have been, but instead a dull grey metal with only a faint scratch where the HL weapon had mard it.

Colins power screams at him. He _needs_ to sample that material. It can't tell him exactly what it is, just that it's an alloy an order of magnitude above anything he's ever seen. Even spheres work was never this strong. Colin does not drool a little.

Nope.

"I.. I need to sample this. I.." he swallows harshly then straightens in his armor. "No. we have to maintain pursuit. A potentially dangerous parahuman has taken refuge in this room and we need to apprehend him." pushing down the all encompassing need to tinker is always hard but Armsmaster manages it relatively easily thanks to his many hours of practice. His jaw set, he starts fiddling with the tiny switches and knobs on the side of his halberd, accessing the most advanced tool he has ever created.

The hard light mace disappears and the projector detachs smoking silently, he pays the one shot device no mind. With a few more flicks of his little finger a warning message pops up on his HUD. The red box simply asks for authorization in bold print.

"Override ARMSMASTER, Zed Zed nine Plural Zed Alpha." A small feral smile cracks across his lips. he wasn't technically authorized to use this yet, but he did the tinker authorizations for ENE anyway so what the hell. It needed a test run.

what unfolds from the end of the swiss army halberd is no bigger than a butter knife. like most of the tools in his arsenal it is made from a featureless black metal that seems to absorb the light.

"Stand back MM." He says. placing a gauntleted hand on his partners shoulder. "I'll have us through in a second."

He takes his junior members place in front of the door. "Initiate." He speaks, the only confirmation that he's not just talking to air is a near silent beep from his helmet.

His halberd bursts into grey flame.

He wastes no time bringing the 'flame' down through the door. there's no resistance, no sound, just the flame and a steadily growing pile of door.

within moments he's carved the outline of a man sized hole in the door.

"STAND CLEAR!" He yells, using his suits speakers to augment his already intimidating vociferousness.

He kicks the door. Nothing, then a _CREAK_ that wouldn't have been out of place coming from a transylvanian castle, and the door falls inward.

If the sound from armsmasters failed attempt at smashing through the door had been loud, the noise the door produced when it made contact with the floor was was deafening. He smirks and steps through the void where there was once a door.

Standing in the middle of the hospital room… which looks more like the sick Bay from a Sci-fi spaceship than an intensive care ward, is a lizard. A humanoid lizard. It doesn't even look up as Armsmaster steps through the destroyed doorway. It merely raised a blatantly tinkertech machine pistol at his face and continued on as it had been.

"patient human female, Late adolescence. Sustained multiple traumas, suffering severe infection, High fever." The figure rattled off in kurt, concise sentences into a recorder of some sort.

It stops its frenetic recital of afflictions to look down at the prone figure on the hospital bed. It only pauses for half a second, but Colin's HUD lights up with almost a dozen different emotions displayed. they run the gambit from confusion to compassion to anger, finally settling on cold fury.

"multiple, pointless, amputations. Could have saved legs if arrived sooner. administering high dose medigel, constant observation recommended." The strange… creature? a case 53 perhaps? Belts out faster than Halbeard thought possible. "should start preparation for cybernetic implantation immediately, reduced recovery time."

Turning, the case 53 grabs a small handled device off a table made from the same grey metal as the door. Faster than Armsmaster could react to, he presses it to the prone figures neck and presses a button on the handle, It make a noise like a soda bottle fizzing.

pointing his halberd at the strange creature and trusting his armored form to protect himself and Miss Militia from the strange gun Armsmaster starts forward. "What did you just do? What did you inject her with?" Reaching the much shorter thing, he reaches out to restrain and disarm it, only for it to not be there anymore.

There are two startlingly muffled thuds and the halberd, the product of dozens of hours of tinkering, falls apart in his hands.

Shock is close enough to what he feels as makes no difference.

Armsmaster stares at the mangled metal pole in his hands. The top half is gone, most of the control system is splattered across the far side of the room, away from the patient some small part of him realizes. The hilt hangs from his left hand by a small number of graphene strips and germanium wires.

His helmet did not whisk away a single tear.

Nope.

The smooth metal of a gun barrel pressed against his chin brings him back from his lamenting to the present.

"should probably kill you. would save time. hassle cleaning weapon though." The thing says into his ear. It is hanging from the armor of his back, using the stubby ridges on his helmet as hand holds.

"you don't want to do that. you'll have the whole protectorate after you. Not to mention my partner is pointing a gun at your back as we speak."

"Partner no longer issue."

Armsmaster stiffens. "What did you do?" he hisses.

"She'll live. If had wanted you dead, would be. Will you cooperate?"

Armsmaster takes stock of the situation. He has no tools left, just his power armor which is just that. Powered _armor_. Ninety percent of the strength went right back into moving the monster around with something close to resembling agility. He quickly comes to the conclusion that no, he doesn't have anything he can do about this thing, clamped like a limpet to the shoulders of his suit. And he needs to check on MM. But the civilian comes first.

"I can't let you hurt these people. I have to know what you're doing. I will stop you if you hurt them."

The thing sighs. "Noble to fault. reminiscent of.. nevermind. verywell. Will slow work down to much to stop. let me work while I explain." The thing leaps and performs a perfect front flip over the top of Colin's head. It lands, hand outstretched.

"I am Mordin Solus."


	4. Chapter 4

So again I want to thank everyone whose Favorited and followed this story. Its really overwhelming.

Next Id like to extend my personal thanks to everyone whose reviewed my work. I've taken your suggestions to heart and will be changing the translations so they are easier to find.

Third thing this week, its a short chapter. I wanted to write Hannah's perspective this week as well and I just might but shes a lot of work so I'm posting this for now.

Enjoy.

o0OXWX…..Danny Hebert…..XWXO0o

He's still staring at the prone form on the bed. It's been nearly twenty minutes since the gargantuan man left the room and he hasn't shifted. just stared, fixated, at his daughter. His eyes move though, sometimes. They drift, misty, down to the foot of the bed. There the sheats only cover,not hide, the empty space where her lower legs once were.

A hand reaches down and touches his shoulder.

"Sir, I.. I never got your name?" Questions the nurse, who Danny just then notices, hopefully.

"Its" He draws a long ragged breath. "Its Danny. I'm.." He sobs once then composes himself a little. "I'm her father."

"Did.. did you sigh in at the front desk? We.. need to keep track of everyone who comes and goes from the more secure areas of the hospital."

"I… I, yes, I did." he mumbles, his eyes still not leaving his daughter.

"Do you have the badge they gave you?" she asks.

"I. No I don't. I guess I didn't stop long enough for them to make one." He chuckles dryly. "Although I think my haste can be excused. It was for a good reason."

"Well technically you're not allowed on this floor without an escort, doubly so because of your lack of identification." She informs him with the air of someone for whom this situation is routine. "But seeing how, as you said, you have a pretty good excuse, I'll make you a deal. If you stay here for the next while and don't make any trouble for the staff or patients, I'll go and find your badge." she looks at the bags under his eyes. "And a cup of coffee… or three"

"Eidolon himself couldn't make me leave this room." He said with the certainty of a man who'd put dozens of Merchant, Empire, and ABB goons in rooms like this one.

The nurse merely nods, unseen by Danny, and leaves.

o0OXWX…..Nurse Jackie…..XWXO0o

Leaving the room, the only thing she can think is 'Goddamn. That is a big man.'

The man-bear simply nods at her.

She stops after walking a little ways down the hall. Turning around she looks the monumental mound of muscle in his eyes. "you won't make any trouble?"

He cracks a broken smile. "Wooldnae dream ay it, ma'am." (Wouldn't dream of it, ma'am.)

She nods in a very curt, and final, way. "Good. I wouldn't have to use my powers on you."

The mastodonic man cocks an eyebrow.

"oh yes. all nurses have powers. Its how we always know when the coffee's hot and a patient needs us." She looks over her glasses. "It also lets us throw ruffians out on there ears."

With that she walks off to fulfill her missions and maybe make a phone call.

o0OXWX…..Danny Hebert…..XWXO0o

Alone with his daughter Danny lets himself feel. It takes a lot of effort, the last three days haven't helped, but he manages. His anger, his rage, boils to the surface. If someone had been watching they might have said he radiated heat or that his eyes glowed like the fires of hell, but no one was watching. There was no one to see the anger. He remains a broken man.

He stands for the first time since passing into the room. His knees pop and protest at the rough treatment. An old injury flares sending the left side of his abdomen into spasms.

He relishes the familiar aches and pains. Remembering the fights, and accidents, that caused each and every one and loving it all.

save one. His fingers brush the long jagged scar on the left side of his face. The one injury he wished to forget.

"Annette." He whispers.

The crash had taken the use of his left eye, most of the hearing in his right ear, three fingers, and his wife. He still blames himself, even after the therapy. And now Taylor. why her? He laments internally.

Turning his eyes skyward the, decidedly not religious, man scoffs. "What do you have against this family? Why? Why take my wife? Why maim my daughter? Is this all just a sick joke to you? HA HA look at the Heberts, isn't it tragic?" He half yells. "That's what our life is, a tragic comedy." He mumbles at the sleeping form wrapped in bandages.

The form stirs. Just enough to be noticeable. Danny _leaps_ to the bedside.

"I'm here kiddo." He says scooping up her hand. "Can… can you hear me?'

The figure only sobs a little and lightly squeezes his hand.

"I'm here. Im.. I won't go anywhere. I won't leave you."

She tries to speak but it comes out as a soft croak, muffled by the bandages.

"Don't speak, honey. They've.. They've got a tube in your throat."

Another softer sob. Her head lolls a little to the side.

"S..Sleep now kiddo. You need to sleep, and recover."

He can see her fading, On the verge of sleep, when her head snaps to center. Her muscles tense and her back arches like she was being electrocuted.

He reacts pretty quickly all things considered. "Nurse!" He screams.

Or, rather, tries to. All that comes out is a squeek. It takes an agonizingly long time for his brain to catch up to the fact that squeaking and panicking aren't helping his daughter.

He lunges after the call button on the far side of the bed.

The light stops him in his tracks. It's just hovering there, over taylor. He didn't see where it came from but it transfixed him instantly. Her back arching ever closer to it. Its beautiful his brain supplies, helpfully.

The sphere of Green light blinks orange a few times, then lowers slowly towards Taylors left breast. It sinks into her chest, and is gone.

She flops back onto the bed.

Danny edges forward just a little, afraid to touch Taylor. Afraid to hurt her, or make whatever that was hurt her. "Taylor?" Another tear rolls down his face, tracing the scar in salt.

His brain finally reboots. He nearly breaks the call button, ramming it so hard. They wont be here fast enough, he thinks. He throws himself at the door.

A Light shines behind him.

o0OXWX…..Taylor Hebert…..XWXO0o

My world is pain. Everything is pain. I'm on fire, or maybe I just wish I was. The fog I'm thinking through isn't helping. I do the only thing I can. I let out a sob.

A hand grabs my own.

"...Here kiddo." Only one person calls me kiddo. That must be dad. I made it. I got back to him. That cunt didn't manage to take him from me.

I try to open my eyes. Nothing but a blurry white blob out of the left. Nothing at all from the right. I sob again and squeeze his hand.

"..won't leave.." I hear him say. It helps a little and I try to tell him I love him.

Just pain come out. I feel the tube in my throat now. wonderfull. I spent days in that locker and now I can't even tell my father I love him. Another sob, it's all I can do. I relax my neck and my head roles away from my father. Maybe if I sleep a little I'll be in a better position to communicate when I wake up.

Yeah, and maybe pigs fly... not counting that one cape that makes flying pigs.

"DATA RETRIEVAL COMPLETE. REPOSSESS ASSET?" The voice is loud but not unpleasant. It cut through my mental fog like a hot knife through butter though. Unfortunately it also drives the pain I'm experiencing through the roof.

I pause for a moment. I didn't hear that. I felt it. I felt it in my heart and my mind. I don't understand. What data? Whose asset. I… did sophia succeed in driving me crazy?

"QUERY: REPOSSESS ASSET. YES? NO?"

Ok. That one felt a lot more insistent that I answer than the first one. And now I've got two glowing buttons in my brain.

Yup. Crazy.

Sighing mentally I 'push' the mental button for yes. My world explodes.

I'm not in pain, it's actually quite the opposite really. I feel like I did before the locker. I feel like I did over the holidays. when I would spend whole days watching movies with my dad. I feel content and maybe even the slightest shadow of happiness.

My Left eye is momentarily blinded by a green light out of nowhere. I realize now that I'm arching my back, trying to get to something. I can't see anything but a green-white blob. I _need_ that light.

My chest feels hot. Not fire hot. More like blushing or maybe a warm shower.

"ASSET ACQUIRED. INTEGRATE DATA? YES? NO?"

A little more used to it now I'm not startled as the voice asks another question. 'Seeing' the mental buttons I 'reach' out and tag the yes, because why not?

An explosion of information passes before my eyes. Sword fighting techniques. How to clean, maintain, and fire guns. Magic.

…

WAIT WHAT?

I.. I know magic. Its simple, or looks that way. Not massively useful stuff, if it works. But its magic. I.. I can make a blade with an edge sharp enough to cut steel like tissue. I can make impenetrable shields. I can…

"HOST DAMAGED. DEPLOY ASSET? YES? NO?"

I'm still a little freaked out by the revelation that, to quote a movie I once saw, _I KNOW KUNG FU._ So when the query comes I bat it aside without really paying much attention to it, I want to get back to studying my new skills.

"DEPLOYING."

The heat from just a moment before redoubles, this time it verges on the painful. But it's a good pain, like when you floss your teeth or slide into a hot tub. Then the light is back.

My vision is filled with white and blue now. Then it's gone. Just as quickly as it came.

My bed shifts under me. Its… softer. It fits my shape like it was made for me. The drone of the overhead lights cuts off, replaced by silence.

"Most intriguing." The new voice sounds like safety and health.

 _ ***CLANG***_

o0OXWX…..Bonus Interlude: Omake 1, Possible Futures…..XWXO0o

I twiddle my thumbs nervously. looking in the mirror I'm not completely satisfied with how the dress turned out. Its long, flowing all the way to the floor. It's a little too clingy, showing off how non existent my figure is. I don't like how low the neck line is. I don't think i have the bust to pull it off.

"You know, you look amazing? Right?"

"thanks, but no I don't." I reply.

"You know I wouldn't lie to you."

"I just don't know. I don't think I can pull it off. I mean what if she doesn't like it. what if it's too revealing. Rr not revealing enough. Or what if she doesn't like black or.."

"Stop! Slow down. Im sure it will be fine. You're just panicing yourself again" She grabs my shoulders and turns me to look in my eyes. "Remember what happened last time you panicked?"

Sighing I look down and to the left. My false right eye makes a mechanical whir. "I brought Ford through." I mumble.

" _You brought me through._ " Ford thinks at me. " _At least It made an interesting entry in The Guide. Speaking of which, have you tried asking it for help?_ "

"Thank you Ford. Not Helping." My current projection supplies.

"TAYLOR! YOUR DATES HERE!" My dad yells from downstairs.

"O my god. I'm so not ready. What if it goes wrong? what do I do? whatamIgoingtodo?" I franticly pace my room trying not to trip in the heeled cybernetics I'm wearing.

 _*SMACK*_

"Taylor! Calm! Down!"

I take a deep breath. "Thanks Peach. I.. I need that." I say, rubbing the red hand-print fading from my cheek.

I head out my door. I stumble to a stop at the top of the stairs, breath taken from me.

She's beautiful. long brown hair framing a mousy face, her freckles are standing out more recently thanks to the sun, but that's ok. I _love_ her freckles. she's wearing a green dress that accentuates all the right places. The black jacket I gave her over the top. Shes looking up the stairs at me, mouth slightly agape.

"Hey, Amy."


	5. Bonus Interlude:Omake 2 Possible Futures

Some people don't like Taylia.

I think Taylor/Amy is my favorite pairing.

But I don't like to disappoint so have another Omake.

o0OXWX…..Bonus Interlude: Omake 2, Possible Futures…..XWXO0o

I twiddle my thumbs nervously. looking in the mirror I'm not completely satisfied with how the dress turned out. Its long, flowing all the way to the floor. It's a little too clingy, showing off how non existent my figure is. I don't like how low the neck line is. I don't think i have the bust to pull it off.

"You know, you look amazing? Right?"

"thanks, but no I don't." I reply.

"You know I wouldn't lie to you."

"I just don't know. I don't think I can pull it off. I mean what if he doesn't like it. what if it's too revealing. Or not revealing enough. Or what if he doesn't like black or.."

"Stop! Slow down. Im sure it will be fine. You're just panicing yourself again" She grabs my shoulders and turns me to look in my eyes. "Remember what happened last time you panicked?"

Sighing I look down and to the left. My false right eye makes a mechanical whir. "I brought Ford through." I mumble.

" _You brought me through._ " Ford thinks at me. " _At least It made an interesting entry in The Guide. Speaking of which, have you tried asking it for help?_ "

"Thank you Ford. Not Helping." My current projection supplies.

"TAYLOR! YOUR DATES HERE!" My dad yells from downstairs.

"O my god. I'm so not ready. What if it goes wrong? what do I do? whatamIgoingtodo?" I franticly pace my room trying not to trip in the heeled cybernetics I'm wearing.

 _*SMACK*_

"Taylor! Calm! Down!"

I take a deep breath. "Thanks Peach. I.. I needed that." I say, rubbing the red hand-print that was slowly fading from my cheek.

Heading out my door, I stumble to a stop at the top of the stairs. Embarrassment plain on my face

He's wearing a white suit with a matte black tie. Pinned to the tie is a small silver tie clip with a single clock on it. The face was cracked and all the hands rested at the bottom. He looked up the staircase at me, blushing brightly, mouth slightly agape.

He sweeps a hand through his bright red hair. "Your absolutely beautiful."

I flush a little. "Thanks Dennis. Hearing that from you means a lot."


	6. Chapter 5

I'm having stream of consciousness issues today. My heads a little fuzzy so the chapter is a little short.

Dialog Will be filled in. When is up to me and how I feel next week.

I'd like to say thank you again to everyone who favorited or followed in the last week.

Last I'd like to say thanks to the creators of Whoohoo, I use it for all of the scotsman's translations, I wouldn't be able to do it without their excellent website.

On a side note, I'm not happy with this chapter I just can't do anything about it right now.

o0OXWX…..Taylor Hebert…..XWXO0o

The sounds of a fight filled my ears for a few seconds, but all is silent now. I groan, maybe if I make a noise someone will fill me in on what's happening.

"... ork ...gether. Ne.. … ..lp." Crap. Still can't hear very well. I always read that sensory deprivation could kill a person's mind, and now I kinda believe it. Can't see very well, can't hear very well, can't move. ".. netic ..tation.. option." At least the voice sounds nice. It reminds me of some of my mom's work friends, intelligent, cunning, and most of all compassionate.

"... … ..anacea?" That one, not so much. Hard and unyielding, it's not a very nice voice.

"...?" The first voice is back. I wish it wouldn't go.

"ca.. … ...cea?" Ack. It's like being hit in the ear drum with a brick made of stupid.

"Bu. … … ... Hero!" My dad. He's still holding onto my hand. Still with me. Whatever strength I have is being dedicated to holding on.

I groan again. Only catching snatches of words is really starting to grate on my nerves. Which reminds me. OW! Whatever they had me on either wore off or burned away with the light. I hope they stop talking and pay attention soon.

"Wh.. .. H..t? It would help if I could understand you dad. At least he's actually talking _at_ me now.

"Do .. ...ermision …?" I grunt this time. It's getting to hard to groan. Hurts too much.

There's a clatter in the background and the first and second voices speak, but it's much to soft for me to even make out snips. I get the unmistakable feeling of being leaned over and a small circle is pressed into my neck. I wonder what it is, but before long a soft hiss reverberates through my skin. Warmth spreads through me, starting in my neck but working its way down through my system, dulling pain as it goes. Finally settling in my brain like a dense fog.

The fog lingers for a moment, but is swiftly cleared. It feels almost like someone turned the ventilation in my skull on for the first time. At least the pain is still muted.

"... … uncon... . ...st ..urio.." I wonder for the first time why I feel so good listening to a stranger's voice. Then I remember that Morgan Freeman is a thing. Maybe it's not so weird. "...ger dose. ...n't wor.. ..k .. ..ould"

".. ...ould ..t ..or .. pana.." The gruff voice again. Why is it even here. It's not helping.

".. do .. ..ow." Trust. That's the word I would use to describe how I feel about that voice. I've never seen its owner but I implicitly trust it not to hurt me, but there's something else. I can almost hear it, but… not… not in the voice. I can.. _hear_ it, for lack of a better word, in my mind. I can _hear_ it saying something about the voice.

It speaks with no voice. Like a stream of ideas, not my own, slipping into my thoughts. Not controlling, helping. Filling in the blanks. Helping me _know_ the voice's origin. I _know_ where it's coming from. I _know_ it wants to help. I can almost _know_ what it's saying. It's there I just can't reach it.

 _In time…_ It not-whispers.

It dawns on me. Voices in my head. Giant dialog boxes floating in my mind's eye. _Knowing_ a voice. So this is what crazy feels like. I kinda want to cry a little, and can feel the moisture begin to form in the corners of my eyes. I… I guess they win…

"Sae, yoo're jist gonna gie up? They win? If Ah hud jist laid doon an' lit mah enemies win, mah haem woods hae bin consumed by Aku."

("So, you're just gonna give up? They win? If I had just laid down and let my enemies win my home would have been consumed by Aku.")

Gah! What the hell was that? Another voice in my head. God I'm crazier than I thought.

"Lassie, if ye thooght up mah entire personality, memories an' aw, Ah woods be amazed. But aam bonnie sure ye didne."

("Girl, if you thought up my entire personality, memories and all, I would be amazed. But I'm pretty sure you didn't.")

Oh look, The voices in my head are responding to my thoughts. Great.

"Is 'at anyway tae address yer rescuer? Ah dornt hink awa' wae th' fairies anyway. Ah cannae afford tae lit ye hink 'at either, coz if awa' wae th' fairies it means Ah dornt exist."

("Is that anyway to address your rescuer? I don't think you're crazy anyway. I can't afford to let you think that either, because if you're crazy it means I don't exist.")

 _Ok… voice in my head. If you want me to talk to you I guess there's no way for me to refuse, and I can always see a shrink later. So, what do I call you oh mighty rescuer?_

"That's interestin', Ah can taste yer sarcasm. it's th' scotsman, by th' way. Ah dornt min' mah given nam sae dornt ask."

("That's interesting, I can taste your sarcasm. It's The Scotsman, by the way. I don't remember my given name so don't ask.")

There's a shuffling. In my head. _Hows he doing that?_

"Dornt ask me. It's yer heed. Noo, let's shed some lecht oan uir discussion."

("Don't ask me. It's your head. Now, let's shed some light on our discussion.")

 _Click._

What sounds suspiciously like a pull chain being tugged on immediately precedes a blinding light flaring throughout my mindscape. It takes a moment for my metaphoric eyes to adjust, but once they do I'm startled to _see_ a giant man sitting on a small plastic chair next to a box fan. All around us is a featureless black void except for the heavy looking matte black door off to my left. The man is holding onto a pull-chain, linked to the single naked light bulb that hangs from the infinite blackness above.

 _I have a really dull imagination._

"Ah dornt hink thes place is finished yit. Ah cannae dae anythin' wi' it. Althoogh th' reek ay magic an' potential is heavy in th' air, but we'll lae 'at fur anither time."

("I don't think this place is finished yet. I can't do anything with it. although the reek of magic and potential is heavy in the air, but we'll leave that for another time.")

Wait. Box fan. You have got to be kidding me. My mental fog _was_ literally blown away? Ok maybe I underestimated my imagination.

 _Or maybe I'm just crazier than I thought._

The towering man sighs. "We've got a lang way tae gang, an' Ah hink ye shoods spend th' next while in haur anyway."

("We've got a long way to go, and I think you should spend the next while in here anyway.")

 _Spend some time in here? What does that mean?_ I'm not in anywhere. Except, it's been awhile since I heard anything from my own ears. Come to think of it I'm not getting anything from any of my real senses. _I should focus on that, no need to feed the crazy._

"Ah pure wooldnae dae 'at. Mordin's in th' wey o start oan yer surgery an' th' anesthetic isnae pure workin'. If ye gang it thaur yoo're gonna be in agony."

("I really wouldn't do that. Mordin's about to start on your surgery and the anesthetic isn't really working. If you go out there you're gonna be in agony.")

 _Who's Mordin, and why is he performing surgery on me? and now that I think about it, how the hell do you know?_

"Mordin's fa ye pit in mah place. Hoo Ah ken is a lot mair complicated. Let's jist say 'at Ah can hear it an' move oan."

("Mordin's who you put in my place. How I know is a lot more complicated. Let's just say that I can hear it and move on.")

 _Alrighty then, agonizing pain doesn't really sound all that appetizing so I'll stay here for a while. I just… I guess I trust you. I just don't know why._

"Let's see if we cannae wark 'at it. together."

("Let's see if we can't work that out. Together.")


End file.
